Journals of the Proceedings

The Journal of the Proceedings serves as the official record of City Council meetings and reflects all legislative actions. Included in the official record is a synopsis of Mayoral and Aldermanic introductions referred to committees, committee reports, complete text of adopted legislation, roll call votes, motions and parliamentary actions, notifications of filings with and legislative publications by the City Clerk, approval of City Council Journal, and other actions taken on the Council Floor.

Each Journal contains a Table of Contents at the beginning and Legislative Index at the end.

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DOWNLOADING JOURNALS Download times for the Journal may take a few minutes based on internet connections. To download Journals single click on the date link (Do Not Double Click as this may cause a download error). Once downloaded a Journal prompt will appear at the bottom of your screen. Select “Open” and wait for the Journal to post on your screen.

BOOKMARKS To view the bookmarks select the bookmark function on the left hand column of the screen. This will allow you to quickly access specific sections of the Journal (Journal Reference Guide)

PAGE THUMBNAILS To view the page thumbnails select this function on the left hand column of the screen. This will allow you browse the Journal page by page. Page 2 of the Journal contains a table of contents that includes the page sequences for each Journal section.

CTRL+F (SEARCH) Selecting Ctrl+F will allow you to conduce a simple search of the Journal. For more options click on the down arrow to the right of the search field and select “Open Full Reader Search”. Additional search options are also available at the bottom of this tab.

NOTE: Some of the Journal documents are currently undergoing maintenance. If you are unable to access a document, please call the City Council Division at 312-744-6870. Provide us with the Journal date, and if you are looking for specific pages of a Journal, please inform us of the requested page numbers in the email.

Journal Reference Guide

City Council Meeting Order Of Business

The City Council Journal is organized to follows the order of business of the regular meeting of the City Council as prescribed in Rule 3 of the City Council Rules of Order and Procedure and outlined below. Click here for additional information on the ordering of documents within each section.

1. Call to order by the Mayor

The Mayor, or in his or her absence the President Pro Tempore, calls the City Council to order to begin the meeting.

2. Call of the roll

The City Clerk calls the roll of members’ present beginning with the first ward.

3. Determination of Quorum

If a quorum is present the Council may proceed. A quorum consists of the majority of the members of the City Council, including the Mayor. If no quorum is present, the City Council shall, by majority vote of the members’ present, move to recess or adjourn.

4. Pledge of Allegiance

The Pledge of Allegiance is recited by the members of the City Council and assembled guests.

5. Invocation

An invocation is given.

6. Reports and Communications from the Mayor

Reports and communications from the Mayor and City departments (through the Mayor) are announced into the record by the City Clerk and sent to the appropriate committee unless there is 2/3 vote to suspend the City Council’s Rules of Order and Procedure and consider them immediately. The Mayor or Presiding Officer may also present resolutions or proclamations.

7. Communications from the City Clerk

The City Clerk apprises the City Council of communications from various departments and agencies that were filed in his or her office from the time of the previous meeting. The City Clerk also notes the publication of the previous City Council Journal and other documents required or requested to be published. Matters submitted to the City Clerk by members of the general public or other entities and which require City Council approval are also introduced and referred to the appropriate committee for deliberation.

8. Reports of Standing Committees*

Standing committee chairmen report out to the full City Council the recommendations of the membership on matters under their consideration. Joint committees comprising two or more standing committees also report their recommendations at this time.

9. Reports of Special Committees

Special committee chairmen present their reports. Special committees are created by resolution adopted by 2/3 affirmative vote of the aldermen entitled by law to be elected

10. Agreed Calendar

Non-controversial resolutions honoring or paying tribute to individuals or organizations or ceremonial in nature are considered under the Agreed Calendar and on recommendation of the Chairman of the Committee on Finance, they are voted upon as a group by the full City Council. The Agreed Calendar is also commonly referred to as the Consent Calendar.

The City Clerk will "Call the Wards" and read into the record new legislative proposals (ordinances, orders, petitions, resolutions or other original matters) introduced by aldermen on a variety of topics including but not limited to Municipal Code amendments, traffic regulations, zoning matters, licensing requirements, etc. The order of presentation alternates each meeting beginning with the 1St Ward on one meeting then the 50th Ward on the next succeeding meeting and so forth.

Under City Council Rules, all legislative matters introduced are automatically referred to a City Council Committee without debate unless there is a 2/3 vote of the members (34 votes are required) to suspend the rules to allow immediate consideration of the matter in question.

Items may be referred to a Joint Committee for consideration, however if two or more committees are called the subject matter is referred, without debate, to the Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics.

12. Correction and approval of the Journal of the Proceedings of the last preceding meeting or meetings

Correction to the Journal of Proceedings are presented and referred to the Committee on Committees, Rules and Ethics for review. The Chairman of the Committee on Finance will also recommend to the full City Council the approval of the Journal(s) of the last preceding regular meeting, as corrected, as well as any special meetings which occurred from the time of the last City Council meeting.

13. Unfinished Business

Aldermen may request that the City Council call up for consideration previously deferred items. Notification of intentions to consider such matter(s) must be given to all aldermen and must clearly identify the item intended to be called up for a vote. In addition to notice requirements contained in the City Council’s Rules of Order and Procedure, meetings must notices must be given at least 48 hours in advance in accordance with Illinois Open Meetings Act (5ILCS 120/2.03 and 2.03)

14. Miscellaneous Business

At this point in the meeting any alderman may motion to discharge a committee from further consideration of a matter which has been pending in committee for more then 60 days. The motion to discharge requires a majority vote of all aldermen (26 votes are required).

15. Ordinance setting the next regular meeting

An ordinance is presented setting the date and time of the next regular meeting of the City Council. If no meeting date is set, then in accordance with the Municipal Code, the regular meeting shall be held at 10:00 a.m. of every second and forth Wednesday of each calendar month.

16. Roll call on omnibus

An omnibus vote is a single roll call vote taken and applied to all items not voted upon separately or for which another vote was not employed during the course of the meeting.

17. Adjournment

If no further business is to be considered and the meeting is concluded, then a motion is made to adjourn.

*The committee agendas/reports posted on the Chicago City Council Calendar list the items that may be called for a vote at the City Council meeting and are considered to be part of the City Council meeting agenda.